On Aug. 22, Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee, was fatally stabbed on a light-rail train in Charlotte, North Carolina. The gruesome video revealed something that many viewers found disturbing: for 1 minute and 40 seconds, nearby passengers just watched the assault unfold and her body collapse until a man saw her pooling blood and helped her.
Questions were raised about why some just walked by or continued looking at their phone; the assailant had left, and camera angles show that people saw her.
National news outlets didn’t report the stabbing for weeks. Videos of the brutal scene were posted nearly a month after the incident. And public attention faded as quickly as the headlines did.
Other violent events follow a similar trend. School shootings, wars and street violence run in and out of the news within a few days — maybe a week if extreme enough. A beheading at a motel in Old East Dallas earlier this month became ‘old news’ before some had the chance to see it.
There is concern about the desensitized reactions to the tragic deaths, especially among the younger population. Whether they watched the gory videos themselves or simply heard the news secondhand, a common theme seemed to appear. Because violence is now recognized and reported daily, many seemed to treat the news casually; it was almost as if some people didn’t care.
Not even tragic events can elicit care in a culture of apathy. So this detachment extends beyond ‘breaking news’ — indifference and disinterest have seeped into everyday social interactions and relationships. Uniqueness, opinion and personality seem to be absent as shrugs and nebulousness fill texts and conversations; everything feels cloaked and superficial.
And this trend has also sparked a growing wariness surrounding concerns that it could lead to serious consequences rippling through all aspects of one’s daily life. The school’s mission aims to instill character and leadership qualities contrary to the apathy now beginning to pervade youth culture.
Popularized on social media, the idea of ‘nonchalance’ has infiltrated the minds of children susceptible to short-form content. According to the Director of Marksman Wellness Center Dr. Gabriela Reed, young people are scientifically less motivated, echoing the same three words.
I don’t care.
To some, it’s an anthem for a generation that is becoming apathetic about everything.
Self-improvement trends constantly go in and out of relevance, swept aside by the next movement. Yet in every generation, the image and appeal of being ‘cool’ captures the attention of young people.
To senior Pranav Danda, the general culture of social media is responsible for much of how young people act. Idolizing fictional figures or celebrities and influencers has, in part, given rise to not caring.
“It seems like it’s cool to be detached from the world a little bit and be by yourself,” Danda said. “School might be one of those things that you don’t think is super important; it’s just another thing you detach yourself from.”
Danda notes that some students might even downplay the amount of studying they do, hoping to appear smarter. If someone doesn’t study a lot and still does well in school, others might think he is effortlessly intelligent. And if he doesn’t do well on a test, he can just blame it on the lack of studying. To this, Reed believes that this avoidance tactic, ‘perfection paralysis’, harms students’ ability to learn and be genuinely curious.
“If you don’t try your best because you waited till the last minute, then it doesn’t hit the ego as much as if you actually put all your effort in,” Reed said.
In the past, this type of behavior might have been seen in a different light, a decision to be careless and uninfluenced by social pressures.
“There’s always been the (kid) who thinks it’s cool to not care,” English teacher Cameron Hillier ‘13 said. “Fifty years ago, he was wearing a Letterman jacket and leaning on his car in the parking lot smoking a cigarette. What’s bad is if more people are believing that myth. If social media is playing into that, then that would be pouring gas on that fire.”
Another reason for the popularity of nonchalance is the focus on individuality. Since these trends are predominantly seen in young boys, being independent might seem appealing.
“Being alone might make you seem stronger,” Danda said. “You don’t ask for help or for things; everything seems like it doesn’t matter. You don’t seem like you are struggling and have everything under control. People don’t look at you differently or feel bad for you.”
But acting indifferent takes its toll on oneself. Many teenagers feel hesitant to pursue a niche and “nerdy” interest, or laugh at a joke, or be outwardly passionate about anything that might be deemed uncool. Danda has often debated joining clubs or attending school functions because of the way he would be perceived by his friends.
Reed believes this behavior is self-destructive — actively trying to be apathetic requires more thought and time than being genuine.
“It’s so ironic,” Reed said “It actually takes a lot of effort to act like you don’t care about anything.”

Social apathy has infiltrated teenage relationships, parents and romantic partners, altering how people connect with those closest to them.
“If the kids are being uncooperative, it can cause parenting problems,” Reed said. “It creates a negative dynamic within the family, and parents are supposed to be the biggest influence on their children.”
The effects go beyond familial strife. When teenagers act indifferent towards their parents and their advice, they miss out on the necessary support that helps them grow. And as a result, a cycle might form where parents become frustrated by their children’s lack of response, and then begin to pull back their own care in response.
Hillier also sees this detached attitude as harmful, especially when considering how these developments might affect young men in future relationships, sticking with them into adulthood.
“Do you want your dad’s approach to you to be ‘I don’t really care’?” Hillier said. “You want to be the type of husband who cares deeply for your spouse and children.”
In romantic relationships, acting indifferent and showing little interest has become the norm. As a result, an increasing number of teenage boys have begun to believe that openly showing excitement or care makes them appear desperate.
“There’s a stigma now that being too overinterested in a girl can be bad,” Danda said. “People think that’s how you get girls now. It’s about seeming uninterested and not caring.”
Yet this approach goes against what many women actually appreciate and desire in relationships. Reed recalls her own dating experience with her now-husband, recounting how he wrote a card for her every single day while she was away during her two-month study abroad program in Germany — an act that flew in the face of a “play it cool” mentality.

“From a female perspective, I definitely prefer someone who shows up and cares,” Reed said. “It was 20 years ago, and I still have all of those cards.”
The notably tight-knit relationships among young men can also contribute to the growing trend of exaggerated masculinity, Reed said. And at school, a place where brotherhood and togetherness are core facets of the environment, these social behaviors can be amplified.
“A lot of those guys gravitate towards each other, and then they can teach each other with their nonchalantness,” Reed said. “It’s a race to the bottom at this point — who can care less — but they all secretly really care.”
Jeremy Edge, a licensed professional counselor, has watched similar themes play out in his own office as well. From his counseling experience, he has observed how teenagers are especially susceptible to these new ideas that seem exciting or different from the status quo — progressive perspectives that just might offer new paths to maneuver through life’s labyrinth.
“If they find something like this online and it really resonates, or if there’s something that they like about the influencer or look up to their ideas, it can help them justify that that would help them reach whatever goals they might have,” Edge said.
But the very moments when young people should develop genuine connections — during the chaos of high school and college as transitional periods in life — are when they’re now most likely to stumble across content on the Internet telling them not to care at all.
And without adequate guidance to really process what young people are consuming, Edge believes that it can be only natural to become influenced.
“Kids want to fit in. They want to find their footing in the world,” Edge said. “If they don’t have a support system around them, and they feel like they’re alone, it’s like they’re isolated. Then they’re going to find some kind of community elsewhere.”
At the same time, Edge also notices that parents are often in the dark about the ideological rabbit holes that their children might tumble into, with many turning a blind eye to unregulated screen time.
“I see a lot of times when parents are like, ‘Oh, they’re just online, it’s no big deal,’” Edge said. “And then when their kids get into high school or college and they start failing classes or stop socializing or not doing sports, then they see it’s an issue. But growing up as a young child, they were able to spend as much time as they wanted online without any boundaries. I think there’s ignorance, unfortunately, to some, not all parents, but some.”
However, the path forward isn’t about demonizing social media or restricting access to screens.
Edge believes the solution starts with curiosity, not immediate judgment — to explore these extreme perspectives before shutting down conversations about whatever content teenagers absorb online. To him, real change happens when people identify and grasp the underlying needs these messages promise to fulfill.
“We’re all trying to find answers to the challenges and quagmires of life,” he said. “But the better we understand what we’re reaching for and teaching ourselves, the better we can fill it in ways that help, not harm.”